Too Into You
by Potgenie
Summary: One anniversary. Two deaths. Twelve suspects. One murderer. AU.
1. Newsflash

**New story - this is my holiday project! Yeah I know, another mystery fic... I can't get enough of them! Happy reading! **

**

* * *

**

Too Into You  
Chapter One: Newsflash

* * *

Friday, 24th April, 2009

**HORRIFIC TRAGEDY: AFFLUENT YOUNG COUPLE DEAD**

In one of the most shocking cases to have hit Odaiba this year, world-famous singer Ishida Yamato was found dead in his house this morning. Tragically enough, His wife, Ishida-Takenouchi Sora, had been admitted to the hospital earlier, at approximately 3.35am, due to complaints of a headache and stomachache. She slipped into a coma barely half an hour later and passed away at 5:30am.

The singer, aged 25, was found in his bed by one of the daily helps at around 6am when she was cleaning. Under the impression that he was sleeping, she only returned to their room an hour later and only then did she sense something amiss. Paramedics were called and he was announced dead on the spot.

Just the night before, the Ishidas had thrown a party in their home to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. While it is unknown who were invited, Yamato's manager had issued a statement a week earlier stating that it was only for their good friends. According to the helps, the couple had stayed until almost everyone left before retiring to their room to discuss "something private". It is uncertain whether they left the room after that.

At the young age of 18, Ishida Yamato shot to fame with his band, The Teenage Wolves, performing not only in Japan but also receiving recognition worldwide. Later on, he left the band, citing personal reasons, and went on to release his own albums. He and Sora married at the young age of 20 and in a controversial move four years ago, moved into one of the largest houses in Japan.

His latest album, _Too Into You, _was a worldwide hit and was reportedly dedicated to his wife.

Police have classified their death as an unnatural case and are currently investigating. Both deaths are believed to be related. Please contact them at 1800-123-1245 if you have any information.

---

Sunday, 26th April, 2009

**ISHIDA CASE: INVESTIGATION UNDER WAY**

The "Ishida Case", as popularly-dubbed among residents, has reached a new point in investigation as police have managed to track down everyone on the Ishida's guest list and taken them in for questioning.

Fast becoming the most talked-about murder case in Japan, rumours and theories are rife about the strange turn of events. The most startling mystery – why Ishida-Takenouchi Sora was admitted to hospital three hours earlier, and who had helped – remains unsolved.

It was on the Ishida's fifth wedding anniversary when the tragedy occurred. The cause of their death is still under way, with the autopsy report expected to be out by the end of next week.

"The anniversary was clearly supposed to be a cosy gathering. There were only ten people on the list," Head Officer Yamamoto Satoe told reporters. "We have managed to track all of them down for questioning. We give you our assurance that we are putting in our best efforts to solve this case."

---

Thursday, 30th April, 2009

**ISHIDA CASE: AUTOPSY REPORTS OUT**

The autopsy reports of Ishida Yamato and his wife, Ishida-Takenouchi Sora, have been released to the press.

According to the report, a large amount of rat's poison was found in the body of Ishida-Takenouchi Sora. The extraordinarily large amount would have been enough to kill a child in less than an hour and a full-grown adult in three hours. Rat poison was also found in the body of Ishida Yamato, though the amount was significantly lesser. However, it is believed that the lack of treatment had let to his death.

Police are puzzling over the very different circumstances surrounding such two similar cause of deaths.

"We are investigating into the reason behind Mrs. Ishida's admittance to the hospital without Mr. Ishida," a representative said. "So far, we have received information from a taxi driver saying that he was the one who drove her to the hospital. However, he was unable to provide any more information.

We are also undergoing investigation with the Ishidas guests, all of whom have expressed their willingness to help."

Among the guest list is Yamato's younger brother, Takaishi Takeru, who made a name for himself with the publication of a popular series of children's books last year. He has remained uncontactable and is reportedly distraught over his brother's death.

Ishida Yamato's fans are similarly inconsolable, many of whom still deeply affected by their idol's death. His most loyal fan club, _Yama-Yama_, have set up a shrine outside their clubhouse as a form of grievance. For more details on this, turn to page 2.

* * *

She sighed and flipped a page of the newspaper. Now that the two sole members of the household were gone, and the police were now doing a thorough search of the house with every bit of investigation, she had been banned from returning there, and she doubted that she would be asked to return anytime soon. It looked like her employed days were fast getting numbered.

Her boyfriend snaked up next to her, drawing her close with a swift motion. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he glanced at the paper and shook his head. "Still reading about the case?"

"It happened right under our noses -_ I_ was the one that found him!" she said with a sigh, closing the newspaper and tossing it aside. "Did you read all those gossip rags? Everyone's speculating that I'm the murderer! I can't help but be curious about it!"

"It's not a loss; they were pretty much jerks, weren't they?"

"Everyone has their moments."

He sighed as she pulled away. "Do you have to go for questioning?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Mine's slated for tomorrow... what joy."

He gave her a quick, comforting kiss on her cheek and flashed her a smile. "The people who matter know that you're innocent, babe. Who cares about the rest? Let's go for dinner after that so you've got something to look forward that. How does your favourite pasta cafe sound?"

She grinned. "It's a deal!"

**TBC**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!**


	2. Key to the Question is Squid Ink Pasta

**YAY! Chapter two!**

**Before I move on, some things to take note:**

**This story will contain OOCness, so beware. The characters have been moulded to fit into the story, but this – and I'm making this clear – is NOT synonymous with bashing.**

**Also, I realised I've never written a disclaimer before, but it should be obvious: Potgenie does not own Digimon.**

**Lastly, a big THANK YOU to the fantastical PrincessJaded for helping me to beta this chapter! :D Love ya!**

**Now... on with it!**

**

* * *

**

**Too Into You  
Chapter Two: The Key to the Question is Squid Ink Pasta**

**

* * *

**

Friday, 1st May, 2009 – 11:30am: Police Headquarters

Head officer Yamamoto Satoe frowned to himself as he flipped through the folder, scanning through all the information inside it. He had already read through the contents about four times, but still he felt as though he must be missing something. How was it possible that a murder could be so well-executed that the police were at a loss?

The identities of the victims alone were putting a lot of stress on them. The couple had been famous, well-liked and popular. People wanted answers, and they wanted them fast. The wait for the autopsy report alone had already generated some complaints. They had to crack the case quickly if they wanted any form of peace and quiet.

Satoe flipped to the copy of the guest list. There were ten of them, all of whom had definitely attended the party, not to mention a couple of helps and staff who had been working on that day.

He had just questioned one of the helps – a feisty violet-haired girl who had been rather uncooperative. The fact that she was a key suspect hadn't seemed to unfaze her. Well, the truth would hit her soon enough…

He read through the results of the search of the mansion. Nothing much had been found; and that did not surprise him. One thing he knew for sure was that the murder must have been well-planned, and not a shred of evidence had been found thus far. No fingerprints, no leftover bottle of rat poison… There had been different strands of hair, of course, but given how it had been a party… that hardly proved anything.

Sighing, he slammed the folder shut and leaned back against his chair, gazing around his large office.

Yamamoto Satoe was a dedicated officer and brilliant at his job. No case under him had ever remained unsolved, impossible as that seemed.

And he wasn't going to let this one be his first.

* * *

Friday, 1st May, 2009 – 12:30pm: Oishii Pasta Café

"How was it?" Was the first thing he asked when she hurried over.

"It was _crap_." She stuck out her tongue and wrinkled her nose as they walked over to the café they were going to have lunch in. "They acted like I was an idiot, and they were so _rude_! It was more of a demanding than a questioning!"

A young, smiley waitress led them toward a cosy table by the window. He looked closely at her as they sat down.

"Did they ask you – ?"

She rolled her eyes and looked up from the menu. "Duh. Of course! It was one of the first things they asked!"

An anxious look passed over his face almost at once, and he stared at her, hands unconsciously gripping the sides of the table as he spoke. "And did – did you…"

Her entire demeanor changed at once. She was glaring at him so fiercely he cringed. "Of course I didn't, Ken! How stupid do you think I am? Geez – I was just treated like shit and all you care about is yourself." She slammed the menu shut with unnecessary force and signalled for the waitress.

"I'll have the squid ink pasta, please."

"Miyako, I –"

"Save it."

* * *

_The clock on the wall showed that the time was exactly 11 AM. She stared at it, willing the seconds to tick by faster. She was bored, annoyed and hungry – not a good combination at all._

"_So, Inoue Miyako – what were you doing from approximately 8 PM on 23rd__ April 2009 to 5:30 AM on 24th __April 2009?"_

_She let out a deliberate, impatient sigh as she twirled with a lock of her long hair. The officer who was conducting the questioning towered over her, making her feel just a little intimidated. But she wasn't going to let that show. She wasn't going to let them think they were boss._

"_I was cleaning," she said dully. "I'm the daily help, remember? There was a huge party going on, I had plenty to do."_

"_I don't think you would have needed four and a half hours to clean up," the officer said coldly, taking a few steps toward her. "If I'm not wrong, the help only cleans when the party has ended; and from what I've gathered, it ended around 12:30 AM. What were you doing in the meantime?"_

_She glared defiantly at him. "I was in the kitchen. Helping out with the food."_

"_Do you have an alibi?"_

_She paused for the briefest moment. Then – "Of course I do!"_

"_Who?"_

_Her glare deepened. "The head cook. Motomiya Daisuke."_

"_I see." He made a note on his clipboard, then looked at her again."You were on cleaning duty at 6 AM on 24th__ April and you entered the Ishidas' bedroom. Why did you only call the police at 7 AM?"_

_She rolled her eyes. Were these men in uniform frigging stupid or what? Hadn't she already given her statement on the day itself? "I thought he was sleeping," she said with mock patience. "You know, when a person's dead, they look pretty much like they're asleep?"_

_The policewoman guarding the door let out a cough that might have been to disguise a snort of laughter. The officer ignored her._

"_That will be the end of our session," he said curtly. "We will call you up if we need any more information. Do bear in mind that there will be serious consequences if you are found to have lied for any of the questions. Thank you for your cooperation."_

_As the policewoman led her out, Miyako felt just the teeniest bit of unease. And yet she didn't know why, because she was sure that she hadn't done anything wrong._

_

* * *

_

"Miyako… are you okay?"

Fifteen minutes of their meal had passed in icy silence. Miyako was attacking her pasta with unnecessary force, hardly even caring that with lack of careful eating she was staining her teeth black. Ken could've slapped himself – of all times to get panicky and selfish, he had to choose when his girlfriend had just endured a whole half hour of intensive interrogation. Just great timing.

He hadn't meant to act like that – it was just that he was so worried. Of course, he could trust Miyako with his life. She was the one who knew him best, and he knew that she would do practically anything – no matter how drastic – for him. But the fact that things had come to this made his initial worry even bigger.

"Look… I'm really sorry," he said finally, reaching forward and taking her hands in his. "It was really idiotic and selfish of me to say that stuff just now. You know I didn't mean to."

She looked a little mollified now and he began to feel somewhat relieved. He should probably treat her to some of her favourite macaroons later – she hardly got to enjoy them.

He would make things better soon enough. He always did.

* * *

Friday, 1st May, 2009 – 2:05pm: Odaiba Sunshine Apartment

About ten blocks away the café was a nice, bright apartment. It was fifteen stories tall and painted a cheerful yellow and blue. It looked pretty much like an ideal place to live in.

This could not be said for the residents of unit no. 16, level eight, though.

"I can't stand this place." He buried his face into his hands, feeling fresh tears leak out of his eyes as he squeezed them shut. "I want to get out of here."

She sat down next to him and wrapped a slender arm around him. She didn't know what to say, but had the feeling that it would be best to remain silent.

"How can they suspect _me_?" He looked up suddenly and turned to face her, a wild, miserable expression on his face. "I'm _his_brother! How could they…?" His question trailed off, and she felt her heart wrench at how lost he looked, like an abandoned puppy.

"Takeru," she said softly, gazing straight at him, "it's standard procedure they're going through. They have to question everybody on the guest list. I'm scheduled for questioning, too. That doesn't mean they suspect you."

"You could obviously tell it was on their minds," he said quietly. "They were going on about how I –" His voice broke off and it took him an effort to continue. "I'm the sole inheritor of his fortune, after Sora. And we know – "

"Don't give a damn about them!" she interrupted him fiercely. "The police were just doing their job, and you just have to ignore whatever fucked up questions they have. We all know, Takeru." Her voice softened and she leaned against him, feeling a sudden wave of tears threatening to engulf her as well.

"I just…" His voice cracked slightly with the effort. "I can't believe they're gone."

"Mummy?"

Hikari startled slightly and then turned around quickly, composing herself as she did so. Their four-year-old son, Takuya, whom she had assumed would be fast asleep, was standing by the doorway, staring wide-eyed at his parents.

"Darling, it's supposed to be your naptime now," Hikari moved forward swiftly, blocking Takeru from the child's view and bending down so they were of the same eye level. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

Takuya simply stared at her. "Mummy, I…"

The child only wore that expression when he had done something very, very wrong.

"Takuya, what's wrong?" Her tone was much sterner now, perhaps a little too much; but with all that had happened recently, she just couldn't muster the patience she once had before.

"Mummy, I've something to show you."

Takuya was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Hikari stared at him for a second, and then turned briefly to look at her husband – he still had his face buried in his hands, and she thought she saw his shoulders shaking. "Alright then," she whispered to her son, leading him out gently and closing the door behind them. "What is it?"

In response, Takuya held out a fist and slowly opened it… revealing a small, golden key that looked strangely familiar to Hikari.

She let out an involuntary gasp and practically snatched it out of Takuya's hands, bringing it up to examine it close.

The distinctive design of the key was unmistakable.

She turned to her son, feeling suddenly lightheaded.

"Where did you get this from, Takuya?"

* * *

_Thursday, 23rd __April, 2009 – 7:45pm: Ishidas' Residence_

"_You're early!" Ishida-Takenouchi Sora smiled brilliantly as she led the young couple through the door and toward the posh living room which had been featured so often in many celebrity magazines.__The aromas of the delicious food filled the air, and trays laden with all sorts of delicacies were laid out on the wide marble table. Her husband, Ishida Yamato, was lounging on the cream-coloured sofa, chatting idly with a guest that had proved to be even earlier than them._

"_Hey," he acknowledged them with a lazy smile, then held out his hands for the little boy that stood shyly next to his mother. "It's Takuya, isn't it!" He spoke through the cigarette in his mouth. "Come to Uncle Yamato!"_

_The little boy ran over at once, a happy smile on his face._

"_Yamato? I don't think you should smoke that in front of him."_

"_You worry too much, little bro," Yamato let out a laugh and turned to the guest seated next to him, who smiled a little and shrugged in response. "Takuya doesn't mind, do you, Takuya?" He picked up the child and settled him on his legs, the little boy giggling happily all the way. The couple exchanged looks - he slightly frustrated, she rather defeated._

_Their son seemed happy enough for the moment, so it was on with the pleasantries, then._"_Hello." He and his wife both simulatenously turned to the couch and he made to walk over, greeting the stranger politely. "I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met before...?"_

_Before the other guest could answer, Yamato let out a raucous laugh. "Anyone wants some beer?"_

_Sora sighed and gazed around apologetically at the three of them. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "He's just had a bit too much to drink."_

_The guest on the sofa smiled at her understandingly, and the couple nodded in unison, both used to and exasperated by this scenario._

_Yamato rolled his eyes and tickled Takuya lightly. Tthe little boy squealed and squirmed and the atmosphere seemed to relax a little, and Sora was just turning to the couple for a chat... when Yamato let out a bark of laughter and the cigarette fell right out from his mouth and onto the child's lap._

_The loud cries were enough to startle everyone; the guest jumped up from the sofa and ran to the first aid kit in the corner; the couple hurried forward, horrified and filled with anger, while Sora apologised profusely._

"_Throw that damn cigarette away, Yamato!" He shouted as he_ _hurried over to his son, waiting anxiously for the first aid kit._

_Yamato looked a little uncomfortable, and then seemed to regain himself. "Come on," he sighed, gazing around the room. "I didn't mean to. Lighten up, alright? We're all here to have some fun!"_

**

* * *

TBC**

**I hope the flashbacks haven't been too confusing!**

**Thanks very much to my reviewers for chapter one: Aster Selene, SugarSpiral, Cara Miro, PrincessJaded, Catching Rain, Blazing Chaos, Moonlit Opera, LoneWolfVampire13, BenignUser, emotionless-robot, Stardust4 and guavawolf. ARIGATO!**

**PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! (Btw, do you get the chapter title?)**


	3. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

******I'm trying not to confuse ****you guys (and ****myself****)**** too much with the timelines, ****so**** here's the rough format**** of this story****: every chapter will show the happenings of the people in the guest list around the week(s) after the Ishidas are killed… and each chapter will end with a gradual flashback of what happened at the party!**

**I've done some calculations, and this story will probably have eleven chapters. I hope I'm correct! :P**

**So yeah – enough talk and bring on the action!**** Presenting chapter three… enjoy!!**

**

* * *

**

**Too Into You  
Chapter Three: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous**

**

* * *

**

Friday, 1st May, 2009 – 6:15pm: one of Odaiba's private housing estates

Kido Jyou was many things. As a twenty six-year-old man, he could still be considered young and sprightly. He was intelligent and bright, filial to his parents, on good terms with his brothers, and full of dreams and aspirations.

He now sat on the cream-coloured couch in his bachelor's pad, back hunched and hands gripping tightly onto a crumpled sheet of paper. The house he lived in was, frankly, a dream. Japan was a country that faced the pressing problem of land scarcity; to be able to purchase this house at the price he had been offered was one of the best deals he had ever made. But sometimes, on days like this, he couldn't help but wonder about the point of living alone in such a big house. Days like these made him feel so lonely, it was hard to breathe. His grip on the paper tightened, causing it to crumple even more.

Two of his closest friends were dead. Dead and gone.

He hadn't been able to save them – save _her…_

Trying to distract himself from his thoughts, he let his gaze drift down onto what was written on the sheet of paper.

_22__nd__ April 2009_

_Attn: Mr. Kido Jyou_

_Dear Sir,_

_It is our deepest regret to inform you that you have not been accepted to Toshio Medical School. Due to fierce competition and an overwhelming number of applicants, we were unable…_

Unable to bring himself to re-read the contents of the letter for one more time, Jyou crumpled it up into a tight wad and threw it across the wide room.

He had been trying for so many years now. He had studied Pharmacy in University, but what he had really wanted to do was Medicine. He was four years away from being thirty and some would consider him too old to be schooling already. He had been trying for this for so many years, again and again… only to face nothing but constant rejection.

Jyou Kido had many things – but the one thing he wanted most, he could – and would – never get.

* * *

_The time was 12:20pm. Jyou had turned up for the questioning session ten minutes early. He always liked to be early, if not punctual, and this was of no exception._

_He was led into a small room by a policeman, and sat down face-to-face with a guy who introduced himself as Head Officer Yamamoto Satoe. They exchanged brief greetings, and then the officer got right down to business at once._

"_You were one of the people on the guest list of the Ishidas' party," the officer remarked, eyes scanning a sheet of paper he was holding. "I presume you had a close relationship with the deceased?"_

_Jyou let out a heavy sigh, breaking eye contact with the man opposite him and concentrating hard on a smudge of dirt on the table instead. _

"_Sora and I met in high school," he told the officer after a bout of silence. "We became quite close friends. Later on, when she started dating Yamato, I got to know him too. You could say that we were – are – very good friends."_

_Satoe looked slightly sympathetic, but soon returned to his business-like demenaour. "What time did you reach the Ishidas' residence on April the 23__rd__?"_

_Jyou thought for a while. "About 7:15pm. I like to be early." He answered. "It was a very relaxed, small-scale gathering; we just hung around, talking and updating one another on our lives."_

"_And what time did you leave?"_

"_I left at around midnight, with Takaishi Takeru and his wife Hikari," Jyou replied promptly. "I hitched a ride in their car, and they dropped me off at my house."_

"_I see," Satoe made a note on the paper. "And you had no contact with the Ishidas after that?"_

"_No, I didn't," Jyou's voice broke slightly as he spoke. "I went straight to bed… and the next thing I knew, I was reading about their deaths in the papers." He bit his lip, willing himself not to betray his emotions and let the tears fall._

"_I know this is a very difficult time for you, Mr. Kido," the officer spoke more gently now. "This interrogation will be over very shortly. I have only one more question for you. Did you notice any strange behaviour displayed among any of the people present at the party? Any information that could be of use to us?"_

"_No, I…" Jyou stopped, hesitation clouding his face. "Actually, there might be something…"_

_Satoe leaned forward. _

"_I… I don't know if I should say this…"_

"_Mr. Kido, any information that you might have will help us in solving this case," Satoe spoke as calmly as he could. "Furthermore, any information that _you_ withhold could make you a criminal in the eyes of the law if it impedes us from cracking this case."_

"_Al – alright then," Jyou heaved another big sigh, eyes filled with uncertainty and guilt regarding the impending betrayal as he looked up at the officer. "I hate to say this… but I couldn't help noticing something strange about Takaishi Takeru."_

* * *

Friday , 1st May, 2009 – 7:00pm: Tokyo University

Hida Iori was a busy man.

He was studying to be a lawyer, and majoring in Law was no mean feat. It meant constant hard work, late nights in school, his social life vanishing into nothingness and to sum it up, permanent stress.

He had gone for a party recently –a cosy little gathering with some old friends he hadn't managed to meet up with for far too long. It had been about one of the only times he could fully unwind and relax for the past month.

And well, look how _that _had turned out…

(Apart from the grief, Iori was also very curious about this particular murder case. What was the motive? The reason behind all these? But the fact that all the potential suspects were his friends – himself included – he just couldn't bring himself to explore this further.)

Iori sighed and got up from his seat, gathering all his notes and papers together and stuffing them into his file. He should get a move on if he wanted to get home early enough. His interrogation was slated for the next day, and he didn't want to be late. It was the least he could do.

… Not to mention the fact that the officer doing the questioning was on good terms with the dean of his school, and it would do him well to give a good impression…

Stuffing everything haphazardly into his briefcase, Iori got up quickly and headed for the main exit, trying to quell any bit of guilt he felt at that very thought.

It was just too easy to think of things in terms of convenience when they were just an arm's reach away.

* * *

Friday , 1st May, 2009 – 8:00pm: The Best Ramen Restaurant

Motomiya Daisuke looked doubtfully at the bowl of Pork Ramen that had been set down in front of him.

The soup looked lacklustre and far too pale, the egg appeared overcooked, and a bite of the noodles told him that it needed _a lot _more spring in order to taste even remotely good. In short, this ramen was _crap. _Daisuke had known this from the start, when he saw the name of the restaurant displayed proudly on the neon green signboard. Shops like these had nothing to boast about besides their shop name.

Daisuke considered himself a foodie, and an excellent one at that. He wasn't just good at eating, he was great at cooking too – so good that he had been employed by the country's most famous singer as the residence cook. Day by day he enjoyed whipping up delicious dishes and experimenting with new recipes. Without fail, he brought his icy-cold employers down by a notch or two for those brief forty-five minutes during their daily mealtimes – during those moments, they were no longer famous celebrities, well-loved, rich and arrogant – they were just two hungry people greatly enjoying their food, consuming delicacies that they themselves were incapable of making.

Then they had to die suddenly and out of the blue, Daisuke was jobless. Again. It was really terribly annoying. He earned a far-more-than-decent salary at the Ishidas', and he knew that it was going to be difficult finding one that matched up to it. But he was a big spender, and he knew he had to find a new job as soon as possible before all his funds depleted.

He pulled out his newspaper and flipped through the Classifieds section, circling any job that he was remotely interested in. He caught sight of a tiny advertisement for a head cook at a Noodle Restaurant, which was holding a walk-in interview at 2pm to 3pm the next day.

Daisuke circled that too, making another mental note... before remembering something else.

2pm to 3pm – that was the timing of his slated questioning session tomorrow.

_Damn!_ Daisuke cursed silently as he closed the newspaper roughly. As if the Ishidas weren't annoying enough when they were alive... why did they have to create problems in his life even when they were dead?

* * *

_Thursday, 23rd April, 2009 – 7:__55__pm: Ishidas' Residence_

"_Ah, my dear Miyako," Daisuke sauntered over to the purple-haired girl, wearing a large grin on his face. "Working hard, I see?" He draped an arm around her shoulder, and with an annoyed shriek she pushed him away immediately._

"_Phew!" She snapped, looking up from her task of arranging cherries on top of a platter of mini cupcakes. "You stink like crazy! Don't stand so close to me!"_

_Daisuke rolled his eyes. "I'm SORRY, but it's not like I've had much time to go and take a shower, have I? I'm overworked right now as it is!"_

_Miyako looked the young man up and down, then rolled her eyes. "Please. You're just standing there doing nothing, while I'm arranging cherries on a cupcake, which might I add sounds like a cook's job to me!"_

_Daisuke chuckled. "Hey, I baked those damn cupcakes, and that's a far tougher task – so consider yourself lucky." He straightened his chef's hat and rubbed the tension from his shoulders. "I'm going to check on the soup now – you gonna serve that out soon?"_

_Miyako nodded. "Once I'm done with this art of arrangement, yeah."_

_Daisuke smirked and headed toward the large pot at the corner of the kitchen. Miyako sighed inwardly, hating the menial task at hand. Placing the last few cherries precariously on the cakes, she straightened her glasses, took a quick look at her reflection in the shiny refrigerator surface (it wasn't like anyone would notice anyway, but it was just a habit) and picked up the platter._

_She walked steadily to the living room, holding the platter as carefully as she could. The sounds of airy laughter and light conversation filled her ears as she approached. God, she hated those rich people and the pretentious little world they lived in. She couldn't help but overhear snippets of gossip and little exchanges as she weaved her way unnoticed toward the centre of the room, and resisted the urge to let out a snort at the ridiculousness of it all. _

"_Mum, Dad! Glad you could make it!" Ishida Yamato's booming voice rang across the room as he swung the door open, revealing a middle-aged pair standing outside. Anyone who didn't know better would assume that they were a happily married couple._

"_Hi Mum, hi dad!" Yamato's younger brother had hurried over too, embracing the two in turn as they stepped into the threshold. "The two of you arrived together?" Miyako couldn't help noticing that he looked just a little hopeful despite his casual words._

"_We met along the way," Natsuko Takaishi answered pleasantly as she took off her coat. "My, looks like this party is going quite well! The food looks great," she smiled at Miyako, who had just placed the platter on the table. "Ah, and you are...?"_

_Yamato chuckled. "Geez, Mum, that's just the daily help." He waved Miyako away dismissively and turned to his mother, who was now distracted by her grandson. _

"_Oh, my poor Takuya!" She exclaimed, examining his freshly bandaged wound. "What happened to my darling little grandson?" She looked up anxiously at Takeru and Hikari, who exchanged looks. Sora, standing at a corner, looked extremely apologetic. Yamato shook his head and cleared his throat._

"_I was just having a little too much fun with my cigarette and accidentally dropped it on his lap; it's no big deal, we fixed it up in no time!"_

"_No big deal?!" Takeru and Natsuko spoke incredulously at the same time. _

_Miyako, who had found herself lingering behind, drawn to the rapidly-forming tension between the guests and the host of the party, decided that it was probably time to make her leave. She turned hurriedly back to the kitchen, barely catching a glimpse of Hiroaki rolling his eyes, Hikari looking increasingly troubled and upset, and Takeru and Natsuko both wearing similar looks of annoyance. However, she just managed to hear what Sora muttered under her breath as she passed her._

"_Here we go again."_

**TBC**

**The last line of this chapter is courtesy of _1973 _by James Blunt, which is currently playing on my laptop as I type!**

**I made up Toshio Medical School. I really don't know if Toshio is a real word in Japanese... if it is, let's hope it means something good! Ah well, you just gotta make things up sometimes! ;) **

**Oh, and just to note: Takuya is part of the ten-people guest list, but I'm _pretty_ sure he won't have to go through questioning! By now I think you can figure out the rest... (thanks to BenignUser for pointing out a glitch I didn't know I had made!)**

**And lastly, thanks to everyone for reviewing!!! Big fat thank-you to PrincessJaded, Blazing Chaos, Aster Selene, LoneWolfVampire13, BenignUser, ThatsWhatSheSaid07, emotionless-robot, Cara Miro, revilo, SugarSpiral, guavawolf, Catching Rain, Moonlit Opera and shef01animetize - you guys are great!!**


	4. Losing Control

**Too Into You**  
**Chapter Four: Losing Control**

* * *

Friday , 2nd May, 2009 – 11:30am: Heiwa Memorial Cemetery

Heiwa Memorial Cemetery was a small graveyard with few graves scattered around the neatly pruned grass. Despite ifts small size, it was what one would term a "prestigious" graveyard, for lack of a better word. It was extremely expensive to place a grave there – partly because of the peaceful location (hence its name) and the beautiful trees that grew around the cemetery.

At the corner of the graveyard were two fresh gravestones made of marble. Many bouquets of flowers were laid in front of them – the deceased were clearly popular people when they were alive. The closeness of the two graves suggested that perhaps the two deceased knew each other – most possibly a couple.

He walked slowly over to the graves, knelt down and placed a bouquet of fresh white roses gently on the headstone.

"You've got so many flowers already, mine looks hardly noticeable," he whispered, fingering the photograph of the smiling woman as he spoke. "But I know you'll appreciate it all the same."

Izumi Koushirou was a man of few words. He kept to himself and his beloved electronic gadgets most of the time. He had managed to acquire a few close friends though, and many found it rather disbelieving that two of these close friends just happened to be two of the most famous people in Japan.

But now they were dead and to say that he was devastated was an understatement.

As he stared at the two headstones, he found that, as usual, he did not have much to say. No whispered farewell speeches or I-miss-you-so-much declarations. He sighed and bowed his head low.

She was the only one who knew him well enough to interpret his silent moments. And even though she was no longer here, he was sure that wherever she was, this was exactly what she was doing right now.

_

* * *

Yamamoto Satoe stifled a yawn as he stepped into the room. He never could get used to early questionings – it was only 9 in the morning. He had been up late the past night, looking through Takaishi Takeru's file after the tip off from another guest, Kido Jyou._

_He took his seat in front of today's suspect – a pale-faced, red-haired man who sat hunched on his seat, staring miserably at the table. So this was twenty four-year-old Izumi Koushirou – to be frank, he could pass off as an eighteen-year-old easily._

_They cleared the usual questions easily. Koushirou had arrived at the Ishidas' at about half past eight. He had known Sora since they were young. They used to be neighours when they were kids and had become really close. Even though he only got to know Yamato after he started dating Sora, they appeared to have hit it off quite well, too._

_From Yamamoto Satoe's impression so far, Yamato had seemed like a straightforward and loud man – one who was no-nonsense and got down to business quickly. Somehow, he couldn't imagine him and Koushirou getting along well._

"_What time did you leave the party?" He asked._

"_I left at around eleven," Koushirou's answer was almost inaudible. "I… I left with Kido Jyou."_

_Officer Satoe looked up at that. This was a new piece of information! Things looked interesting. "I see. So the two of you went off together?"_

_Koushirou paused. When he spoke again, his voice cracked slightly. "Not really… we were about to hitch a cab when Jyou suddenly remembered that he forgot his wallet, so he doubled back to get it and I went off first."_

_Officer Satoe made a note. "Did you notice anything strange or suspicious during the party?"_

_Koushirou shook his head furiously at that. "No. There was nothing at all! Everything was going on like how it always was – there was nothing different from usual at all!" His voice rose sharply as he continued speaking, and sudden tears were beginning to leak from his eyes. "I never thought this was going to happen. Never! Everything was the same at the party – and then the next thing I knew… she's dead. Gone forever!" Tears were pouring down his cheeks profusely now, and he sounded near hysterical. "She was my closest friend. She was the only one that understood me, and now…"He shut his eyes tight, as though screwing them up against the pain he felt. "She was the only one who_knew_…"_

_Officer Satoe watched him, feeling a strange mixture of pity and increasing suspicion. For all his talk about how close he was to the Ishida couple, Izumi Koushirou had only mentioned one half of them throughout his sudden outburst. It was as though he had forgotten of the existence of the other half..._

_Satoe made a hasty scribble on his notepad:_

_**sora knew something about izumi. surprisingly close.**_

_**

* * *

**_

Friday , 2nd May, 2009 – 11:45am: Odaiba Sunshine Apartment

"Takeru?" Hikari spoke tentatively as she sat down next to her husband on their bed. Her left fist was clutching something tightly.

"Yeah?" Takeru looked up wearily from his half-knotted tie.

"I've got something to show you," Hikari said quietly, leaning forward to him. She took a deep breath and uncurled her fist.

For about two seconds or so, Takeru stared speechlessly at the intricate key in her hand. Then he looked up at her, expression stunned. "How did you get that?"

"Takuya showed it to me yesterday," Hikari replied, closing her fist once more. "I don't know how he could've gotten it. He refused to tell me anything!"

"But," Takeru shook his head, unable to get over what he had just seen. "How could Takuya have gotten it? Could this mean…?"

He stood up abruptly. "I've got to go and ask him."

"Takeru!" Hikari exclaimed sharply, grabbing her husband's arm. "You mustn't jump to conclusions. Let's talk through this before we take any action. Takuya's just a kid. What can he possibly know?"

"Who knows if he saw something he shouldn't have?" Takeru's voice was grim.

"Even more so why we shouldn't rush in asking him anything!" Hikari replied at once, glaring at him. "Get a hold of yourself! Look, Takuya's eating his lunch right now and he has school in an hour. We can't let him know anything's wrong."

Takeru let out a frustrated sigh. "Hikari, he's my _brother_!" He scowled at her fist and then cast an angry look at her. "How can you show me that and then tell me not to do anything?"

Hikari looked sadly at him.

"I know he's your brother, Takeru," she said softly. "But please remember, too, that Takuya is your son."

* * *

Friday , 2nd May, 2009 – 12:00pm: Heiwa Memorial Cemetery

"He was a bastard," he sighed as the pair of them strolled down the pathway slowly. She held a large bouquet in her arms. "But he didn't deserve to die in such a manner."

She looked down at the ground. "Does this mean you forgive him?"

He let out a bark-like laugh in response. "Are you kidding, Mimi? After what he did to you? I don't think so."

Mimi looked at the flowers in her hands and sniffed them delicately, choosing not to respond.

"Hey, look," he said suddenly, pulling her to a stop. "Someone else is there too."

"Who? Taichi, you're blocking me." She took a step sideways and craned her neck to get a better look.

"It's Izumi Koushirou!" She whispered. "He probably wants to be alone. Let's wait for him to leave before we go ahead."

But the man was standing up now, brushing soil off his pants and bowing respectfully to the two graves. Then he turned swiftly and before the couple could manage to jump behind a large tree, he had caught side of them.

Even with the slight distance separating them, they could see that he had stiffened as soon as he saw them. Mimi gave a wave, but Taichi merely frowned. Koushirou gave an uncertain wave in response before practically dashing out of the graveyard.

"I never did like him," Taichi growled.

"Don't be mean," Mimi said sternly. "He's not that bad. We had a talk… of sorts at the party." She bit her lip at the memory of it, then shook her head. "Come on. Let's go and pay our respects."

_

* * *

Thursday, 23rd April, 2009 – 8:45pm: Ishidas' Residence_

_The gathering was going well. Everyone was happily talking and chattering. Alcohol had been successful in loosening up even the shyest of the lot, and everybody seemed to be at ease, catching up with one another and sharing some interesting anecdote they had recently encountered._

_Motomiya Daisuke let out a tired sigh as he leaned against the broom cupboard. Finally, he had finished cooking dinner and serving of supper wouldn't be for another forty-five minutes. He could finally catch his breath and take a quick break somewhere peaceful and quiet – to be exact, the storeroom._

_He plopped himself down on an overturned bucket, accidentally banging against a large mop as he did so. It came clanging down hard on to the floor, and he winced._

_At the same time, he thought he heard a sharp squeal emit from inside the broom cupboard._

_He froze. Were there RATS in the Ishidas' household? Damn! Sora and Yamato were both neat freaks and even if he was the cook, not the cleaner, he knew he would definitely have a share of the blame if something as ghastly as rats were found in the house._

_He mustered up his courage, stood up, and turned to the cupboard._

"_Here goes nothing," he whispered, grabbing the handle and flinging the door open._

"_HOLY SHI –!"_

_

* * *

Tachikawa Mimi let her gaze wander over the large bookcase displayed in a secluded corner of the large living room. It was filled top to bottom with all sorts of thick novels and classics. She couldn't help wondering if this was just for show, or if people here actually read them._

"_Hey there, beautiful."_

_For a minute, she thought that it was just Taichi, but the sudden, almost painful grasp on her wrist told her otherwise. She spun around immediately and came face-to-face with Yamato, who was smiling at her in such a way that it was almost a leer._

"_Yamato," she acknowledged coldly, trying to prise away from his vice-like grip._

"_Mimi," he breathed huskily, leaning in close to her. "It's nice to see you again after so long."_

"_Yes, it is," the grip was really starting to hurt now. She shot him a glare. "Could you let me go, please? You're hurting me."_

_Yamato only pulled her closer in response._

"_Don't lie to me," he was smirking slightly now. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He leaned forward and kissed her ear lightly._

"_Are you drunk?" She hissed, looking around wildly. "People are watching!"_

"_I don't give a shit."_

_More frantic now, she tried to struggle free, but Yamato simply smiled at her. He knew she wouldn't dare to do anything obvious, like make a scene and shout for help. She cared too much about her reputation for that._

"_Hey, what do you think you're doing?"_

_Yamato let go at once and Mimi felt relief wash over her like hot chocolate. She had never been happier to hear Taichi's voice…_

… _That was, until he stormed forward and punched Yamato right in the face._

**

* * *

TBC**

**BIG FAT NOTE: Gah, I had no idea Satoe is Mimi's mother's name! And I used it for a GUY! Oops. Oh well, just to let all of you know that Officer Satoe is of no relation to Mimi's mum, alright? And let's just think of him as a guy and not a guy with a woman's name. Heh.**

**Erm, moving on… Thanks a great bunch of bananas to my lovely reviewers: PrincessJaded, revilo, Aster Selene, Blazing Chaos, Catching Rain, Cara Miro, shef01animetize, emotionless-robot, xReadItAndWeepx, BenignUser, guavawolf, aznwhitespot and SugarSpiral. You guys are great!**

**Please do leave a review for this chapter too; much appreciated! :D I'll try to get the next update up asap!**

**(BTW, Heiwa means "peace" in Japanese.)**


	5. Of Friendship and Broken Bonds

**:) Took kind of long to update, but life got in the way. I hope you guys haven't forgotten this story! Plus, I wanted to make sure there were no loopholes in the story so I drew up a long and detailed outline for my own reference. Read on!**

**

* * *

Too Into You  
Chapter Five: Of Friendship and Broken Bonds**

* * *

Friday, 2nd May, 2009 – 12:45pm: Tokyo University Library

Hida Iori let out a sigh of relief as the cool breeze of the air-conditioner swept over him. The weather outside had been unbelievably hot, and the school library was a welcome respite from the blazing sun despite the fact that reaching his destination meant more studying.

His interrogation had been surprisingly short, but he had been utmost pleased with it. He hadn't been worried about it, of course. He had an alibi the whole time, having left the party at around 11.30am to meet his girlfriend and her family. He had spent the rest of the night with them, throughout the time period when the murder had taken place. Once he had related this, he had been cleared in two seconds flat.

He had been more worried, in fact, about making a good impression in front of Officer Satoe. And after a little prep and good usage of impeccable manners throughout the questioning session, Iori was glad to announce that he had succeeded.

_

* * *

It was two in the afternoon and Yamamoto Satoe was in an excellent mood. His interrogation at noon with a certain Hida Iori had improved matters on the Ishida case quite a bit._

_Out of the twelve main suspects – ten guests and the two main helps on duty during the party, one of whom he was currently about to question – he could finally strike one off the list. While not a significant number, he was glad for this. At least they were beginning to narrow down the list, little by little._

_He turned to the surly looking young man seated across him. With tanned skin and a strong built, he was fairly good-looking despite his unruly mop of spiky hair._

"_Motomiya Daisuke." Satoe looked straight at him and the head cook of the Ishida residence inclined his head in response. "You were the chief cook during the Ishidas' party on 23rd __April, am I right?"_

_Daisuke nodded. "I was always the chief cook, no matter the occasion."_

_Satoe didn't respond to that, merely leaned forward and asked the question he had asked the other main help just the day before. "What were you doing from approximately 8 PM on 23rd April 2009 to 5:30 AM on 24th April 2009?"_

"_Cooking… of course." Daisuke wore an expression that seemed to suggest that Satoe was extremely thick, and this was really getting on the officer's nerves. It seemed like so many of the suspects didn't realise how serious the situation was. Wasn't this guy the least bit upset that his employers were dead, and also over the fact that he could potentially be a main suspect for their murders?_

"_For so long?" Satoe raised an eyebrow. "I am under the impression that the party ended around 12.30am. The last guests left around that time. I doubt that you were cooking all this while. What time did you finish cooking and what did you do after that?"_

_Daisuke simply shrugged. "I didn't have much to do, so I went to the broom cupboard to take a break at around 9pm. I was done cooking by then. Happy?"_

_Satoe narrowed his eyes. "I received information from a certain Inoue Miyako that she helped you with the food until around 12:30am. Are you saying that all this time, you weren't in the kitchen?"_

_Daisuke's eyes widened slightly. Then, hastily he rearranging his features into a scowl, he spoke crossly. "I wasn't in the broom cupboard the whole time, Officer. I did pop in and out of the kitchen to check on things. The help has to clean up everything and serve the food. That's why she stayed longer in the kitchen!"_

_Daisuke's voice was laced with what sounded like panic. Satoe looked sharply at the man's expression. "Did you notice anything suspicious? More importantly, did you notice if anyone called at the house at roughly 3am? That would be around the time Takenouchi Sora was taken to hospital."_

"_Suspicious? Nah. I'm not that observant." Daisuke shrugged. "Well, I did see this blue-haired guy double back after he left, which I thought was a bit weird. But he said it was 'cos he forgot his wallet. As for your other question… no, I didn't see anything."_

"_Hmmm." That did tally with Izumi Koushirou's answer, at least. "Then what were you doing around that time?"_

"_Sleeping."_

"_I was also told from Inoue Miyako that you and her remained together all the way until early dawn, when she went to check on Ishida Yamato." Satoe stood up now, glaring at the young man before him. "Do you have an explanation for why the two of you are giving such contrasting answers?"_

_Daisuke stared. Satoe could've sworn he heard the man mutter something that sounded like "Damn that bitch."_

"_How am I supposed to know what that woman was talking about?" Daisuke threw up his hands. "I was indeed sleeping in my room! I was tired and I went to sleep right after the party ended. I don't know what Miyako was doing until dawn, but it's completely none of my business! That bitch has a big mouth, she was probably talking nonsense. She always does. One time…"_

_Officer Satoe watched Daisuke babble, his suspicions increasing. Both Daisuke and Miyako had shown great indifference to Sora and Yamato's deaths. He himself had heard that Yamato could be none-too-pleasant sometimes, and he wondered if the superstar's own employees could have been unhappy enough with him to kill him off. Besides, it was too strange how they were giving contradicting testimonies…_

"_You do know," Satoe said sternly, "that giving false statements can have undesired consequences, do you? You are putting yourself in a very suspicious light, young man."_

_He made a note on his clipboard. "That will be all for today. I will have to call you back if I have any questions. In the mean time, you are to stay in Japan and are not allowed to leave the country until the case is over." This was standard procedure, something he had told every suspect so far, but with Daisuke he decided that he needed to be more stern. He wouldn't be surprised if the man ended up being detained during the next round of interrogation._

_Daisuke stared blankly as the two policemen who had been guarding the door walked over to him, waiting to lead him out of the room. Satoe gave him a placid stare before turning away – this only seemed to panic Daisuke even more._

_A few seconds passed in tense silence._

"_Wait – wait!" Daisuke burst out suddenly, the shock at being considered a main suspect disorienting him greatly. "I'll tell you where I was at 3am that day. I was with Miyako!"_

_Satoe whirled around._

"_I was helping her to smuggle out her secret lover or whatever their relationship is!" Daisuke said quickly, words tumbling out of his mouth in a rush. "I caught them making out in the broom cupboard earlier on and I promised to keep their whole affair a secret and help them out for the night..."_

"_Her secret lover?" Satoe took down more notes. "What is his – " he pondered for a second, " – or her name?"_

_Daisuke took a deep breath. "I'm sure you've heard of him. He's the son of that famous tycoon. That's why they're together in secret. Who'd want to be seen outside with lowly 'servants' like us?" He let out a bitter laugh._

"_So who is it?"_

_Daisuke sighed, mentally uttering an apology to Miyako as he spoke. "Ichijouji Ken."_

* * *

Friday, 2nd May, 2009 – 3:24pm: Amae Sweets Shop

"Your crepe looks good!" Mimi couldn't help smiling as she watched her boyfriend dig in enthusiastically into his black forest crepe. "Maybe I should've ordered that instead of ice cream."

Taichi swallowed a large bite and shook his head, a small grin playing on his face. "That's just like you, Mimi. You're always so indecisive."

Mimi rolled her eyes but chose not to answer, preferring to take a bite of her own rose-flavoured ice cream. A comfortable silence settled between them as they both enjoyed their desserts.

"Mimi," Taichi said suddenly, wiping his mouth with a pale cream napkin. "I've been wondering about something you said just now."

Mimi looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Just now, at the cemetery… you said you and Koushirou had a talk-of-sorts." Taichi looked slightly hesitant. "What was it about?"

The expression on Taichi's face brought back memories to Mimi's mind. As she gazed quietly at him, she couldn't help but remember that fateful day at Yamato and Sora's place. The incident that had caused the two ex-best friends to get into a brawl was still fresh in her mind.

She knew Taichi loved her, she really did. And she adored him too. He was charming and caring, the perfect boyfriend to have. But sometimes, she wondered if he was maybe just a bit too possessive and paranoid.

But then… maybe he had the right to be. After all, she was Tachikawa Mimi - one of the most sought after beauties in Odaiba, Japan.

"We didn't talk about anything particularly important." Mimi didn't know why she was holding back from telling him the truth. Maybe it was because she wanted to avoid another scene. Even though it had been Yamato who had come on to her and tried to take advantage of her, she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty and responsible for the whole thing. She had been the reason why Taichi and Yamato had grown apart over the years. From best friends, they had ended up becoming close to enemies. They had departed on bad terms that night and now they would never get a chance to patch things up. She and Sora had been such good friends too; but the events at the party had widened the already growing bridge between them. Mimi had wanted to call her up the very next morning to explain everything… but it had been too late.

"What did you guys talk about then?"

Mimi sighed. Why on earth did she have to let it slip just now that she and Koushirou had had a conversation? "We just started talking about, you know, our high school days and began reminiscing about the past." The lie slipped easily from her mouth; she felt only half-guilty about it. It would get Taichi off this matter, after all – she didn't need him to create another fuss over nothing. "I discovered that he isn't all that introverted and freaky as everyone seems to think he is – especially _you_, Taichi!" She flashed him a brilliant smile. "That was all. Really!"

Taichi looked at her closely, scrutinizing her. Mimi felt a flash of irritation. Yeah, so she might be lying... but didn't he trust her enough to believe her words?

"Indeed." Taichi said finally, his charming, boyish smile returning to his face. "People… you just never know sometimes, huh?"

_

* * *

Thursday, 23rd April, 2009 – 9:10pm: Ishidas' Residence_

_Mimi sat quietly on the light blue couch that was tucked away in a corner of the room. She was still feeling disoriented and upset from what had just happened. She had not expected Taichi to react the way he had – and of course, Yamato__had__to return the blows, hadn't he? It had taken efforts on the part of almost every guest at the party to break the two apart._

_The party had fortunately returned to normal since then – it was going pretty well, in fact. The food was excellent, and that always seems to help improve matters._

"_Mimi?"_

_Mimi looked up with a start, thinking that it was Taichi calling her to rejoin the crowd – it wasn't like her to sit out of social events, after all. Instead, she found herself looking up at Izumi Koushirou._

_They had known each other since high school, and had even been in the same class for an entire year. They had never been close, though – Koushirou had always carried the reputation of a computer geek - introverted and socially awkward. The only thing that kept them in contact was the fact that the Ishidas was their mutual friend._

"_Hey, Koushirou," she said softly. He hovered awkwardly above her and she patted the seat next to her, gesturing for him to sit down. This he did, and they sat for a beat in awkward silence before he spoke._

"_Are you feeling alright?"_

_She nodded, grateful for his concern. The fight had preoccupied so many of the guests, hardly anyone had remembered that she was a victim too._

"_Yamato can really go overboard sometimes," Koushirou said miserably. "He didn't use to be like this, back before he became famous. People really change…"_

"_I think this is the most I've ever heard you talk at one go!" Mimi blurted out, then regretted it immediately. Koushirou looked slightly bemused and she felt herself flushing._

_Then he broke into a small smile._

"_You look really pretty today, Mimi."_

_She felt her blush deepen – compliments always did this to her, no matter how many she received. She picked at the soft satin of her cream halter dress, unsure of what to say besides uttering a "thank you"._

"_You're welcome." Koushirou took a deep breath and Mimi looked at him. He seemed to be bracing himself for something – Mimi saw that he was even clenching his fists._

"_If I were Taichi, I would be even more furious than he is now. Yamato's behaviour was unacceptable!"_

_Mimi blinked. "That's funny. I was just wishing that Taichi hadn't overreacted like that."_

"_Overreact?" Koushirou looked at her fiercely. "I wouldn't call that overreacting! Yamato deserved more than a few punches!"_

_Mimi began to feel a little uneasy. She didn't even know Koushirou well – his concern surprised her. "Wow, I had no idea you feel so strongly about this, Koushirou."_

_Koushirou looked suddenly uncomfortable. "Well, that's because – that's because…"_

_She stared at him._

"_I really like you, Mimi."_

* * *

"_MIYAKO?" Daisuke gasped out as he took a step backward._

_To think that he had mistaken - this - for rats! Daisuke stared in horror and surprise as Miyako got up quickly, tugging her bra strap back into place and smoothing down her clothes and hair quickly. He wanted to tell her that this wasn't working one bit, but somehow no words came out of his mouth._

_The stranger that had been wrapped all over Miyako right before Daisuke had stumbled upon them stood up too. He looked even more frantic than Miyako. Tall and good-looking, with bright violet eyes and shoulder-length dark hair, Daisuke thought that he looked oddly familiar. Then it hit him._

"_Oh my God, Miyako, you're together with Ichijouji –"_

"_Shhh!" Both of them hissed back at him. Miyako went over to him hurriedly and put a hand on his shoulder._

"_Daisuke, please – nobody can know that Ken is here," she whispered. "I'm not slacking off, I'm really not – I made sure I finish all my chores early so that…" she trailed off, blushing fiery red. "Anyway, the point is, Ken's not even supposed to be here, and really, nobody's supposed to know about this… so you've got to keep this to yourself, alright?"_

_Daisuke had never heard the strong-willed, loudmouth Miyako plead like this before. He had to admit, it made a refreshing change._

_It was a mean thought, but he couldn't help wondering what Ichijouji Ken and Miyako were doing together... what he saw in her. Miyako was a mere help like him, while Ken was a rich and famous bachelor, widely sought after by beautiful girls all over Japan. He glanced at Ken now – the man looked extremely uneasy, eyes darting around as though making sure that there was nobody around. He looked almost… ashamed._

_At that moment, Daisuke felt nothing but pity and embarrassment for Miyako. They might be constantly at loggerheads, but they were still friends._

"_Alright, Miyako." He gave her a reassuring smile and she literally sagged with relief. "My lips are sealed."_

* * *

"_I don't know what got into me!" He was near tears, and she put a comforting arm around his shoulder, doing all she could to console him. "I don't know what made me say it!"_

"_Kou, you've got to calm down now." Sora's voice was soft and soothing, and Koushirou nodded, willing himself to get a grip and lower his volume. "It was nobody's fault, alright? You didn't mean to say it at all. It's okay."_

"_But the fact is that I did – I told her that I like her!" He whispered, looking up at Sora in dismay. "I never meant to tell her. She's practically married to Taichi… what kind of person must she think I am? How am I ever going to face her?"_

"_You don't have to worry about that. Mimi's not a person to take things like this to heart." As she spoke, Sora felt a pang as she remembered the scene earlier. Her own husband had been trying to get close – too close – to one of her best friends. It hurt, it really did – but she was a strong person, and not one to break down easily. Especially not in front of a room full of people._

"_All this while I knew we were impossible, but I had hoped that we could at least be friends. Now I've ruined it." Koushirou looked at her bleakly. She forced a comforting smile onto her face._

_His expression changed suddenly, and he shook his head. "Oh my gosh, Sora… I've been so selfish. You must be upset over what Yamato did too… and here I've been, going on and on about my own problems."_

_Tears sprang into her eyes – it was funny how a few kind words could so quickly cause one to dissolve into tears. "I'm just glad that you asked, Kou. You're one of the few people that I can really trust and talk to."_

_He smiled sadly. "I feel the same." He patted her hand gently. "We have got to meet up more often, alright? Catch up over coffee or something."_

_She smiled back. The prospect of hanging out with a friend and getting away from her mundane life had never seemed more appealing. It was the very escape that she needed._

"_That sounds great." She grinned at him. "How does Wednesday sound to you?"_

**

* * *

TBC**

**I don't think any of you have noticed (thankfully) but I had been making a mistake for the date of the party during the flashbacks at the end. I've rectified it - it should be 23rd April.**

**This chapter is kinda dialogue-heavy. I hope it isn't too much of a bore!**

**To my reviewers of chapter four: PrincessJaded, aznwhitespot, Catching Rain, revilo, shef01animetize, Cara Miro, emotionless-robot, BenignUser, xReadItAndWeepx, Aster Selene, Posion's Ivy, guavawolf, ThatsWhatSheSaid07 and SugarSpiral... THANK YOU!**

**Till the next update... have fun trying to work out your theories... and hopefully you guys aren't too confuzzled! =(**


	6. Immovable

**I know what the few of you who still read my stories are probably thinking – "Holy Hell, is this an update I see?" Yes, it is, and ironically enough, my sudden spur of a writing mood was brought about by the pure shitiness of the third day of 2010.**

**The hiatus still mostly stands, even though I'll try my best to complete all existing stories before calling it quits here. Apart from this being a dying fandom, the decrease in reviews I've been receiving has felt like a sign that maybe I should move on. Hence, I can't guarantee when the next update's going to be. This story is one of my personal favourites, though, and I will try my best to finish it up! :)**

**So, do read on and enjoy!**

**

* * *

Too Into You  
Chapter Six: Immovable**

_

* * *

Friday, 2nd __May, 2009 – 5pm_

_Takaishi Takeru looked extremely uncomfortable._

_The young man seated before Officer Satoe was fidgeting in his seat. His eyes were dull and his gaze was fixed steadily on the desk. It was clear that the recent affairs had taken a toll on him - his eyes sagged with dark eye bags, his hair was unkempt and he hadn't even shaved properly. His clothes were neatly pressed and well-coordinated, but Satoe suspected that this was more of his wife's doing than his own._

_Of course, this was not surprising. Takaishi Takeru and Ishida Yamato were brothers, and the death of the latter no doubt had an impact on the younger man. Satoe sighed – he could tell that Takeru wanted to get out of the place as soon as possible, and so he wasted no time in asking the usual questions._

_Takeru's answers were standard, voiced in a clipped and brittle tone. Once or twice he looked up at the officer, and Satoe was surprised to see that his gaze was accusatory._

"_Hikari, Takuya and I left around midnight," Takeru said quietly. "We left together with Kido Jyou, another guest at the party – in our car. After dropping Jyou off, we went home immediately, put Takuya into bed and then went to bed ourselves. It wasn't until next morning…" His voice broke and he stopped speaking._

_Satoe nodded in understanding. "When was the last time you saw your brother and his wife?"_

_Takeru sighed. "About half an hour before we left their place. We had tea together in their room – Jyou was there too, that's why we left together. I wanted to make amends with Yamato after the argument we had earlier… and what can I say? I'm glad we did… because if we hadn't, there would never have been another opportunity again."_

"_What argument did the two of you have?" Satoe asked swiftly._

_Takeru looked up sharply, the accusatory gaze in his eyes once more. "Why are you so determined to find something suspicious about me?" he snapped fiercely, his miserable demeanour abruptly replaced by a furious one. "Yamato was my brother, and Sora was like a sister to me! I would never dream of inflicting any harm on them! Don't you guys get it? Stop treating me like a damn criminal!"_

_Satoe fixed a cold glare at him. "The questions we are asking are part of a standard procedure. We ask them to every single person on the list," he said firmly. "It is our duty to find out exactly what happened over the course of that night, in order to get to the bottom of this case. There is no difference in treatment to anyone. Now, if you please, kindly answer my question."_

_Takeru was still glaring at him, looking as though he deeply desired to rebutt. To Satoe's surprise, however, he answered the rest of the questions with no more explosions._

"_Is there anything more you would like to add?" Satoe asked finally, after having asked a few more questions. "Was there anything suspicious or weird that you noticed that night, something out of the ordinary?"_

_Silence fell as Takeru bit his lip, thinking. He had mentioned Taichi's fight with Yamato, having felt mildly guilty for increasing the suspicion of Hikari's brother. But another image was clear in his mind – one of an intricate key, decorated with the design he knew so well. It was a floral, antique-like design, one of Sora's first creations when she was still a budding designer. Yamato had liked it so much, he had decided to use it as the design of every single key in the Ishida household._

_How had Takuya gotten hold of the key? The fact that it was somebody so close to him that had somehow obtained it drove him crazy. It made him paranoid, unsure of who to trust, uncertain even of himself. He hated himself for the moments he looked at his wife and felt those sudden, stabbing bouts of suspicion. It was impossible, it had to be. But Takuya had stayed close to them the whole time. He had made sure of that, ever since the cigarette burn incident. How, then…?_

_But the fact remained that this key could be a clue. Sure, it could just as much be nothing – maybe Takuya saw one of the keys lying around, thought it pretty and pocketed it. However, there was still a chance that this key could help the police in finding out the cause of his brother's death._

_Takeru looked up at Satoe again, his gaze a totally different one now – no longer annoyed and accusatory, it was now determined. "Yes. There is one thing I've to tell you."_

* * *

Satoe flipped through his notes, a frown creasing his brows as he read through his notes.

There were a few stark key points he had noted so far. First, nobody he had interrogated so far, with the exception of Takeru and Jyou, seemed to like the Ishidas – Yamato especially – very much. On closer inspection, the dislike seemed to be solely focused on Yamato – most of the suspects appeared to have at least a decent relationship with Sora, and Koushirou seemed exceptionally close to her. This gave them all some motive or sort to be against Yamato and perhaps even harm him – but where did this leave Sora?

Secondly… Satoe sighed, thinking back to the previous interrogations. Both Koushirou and Daisuke had mentioned something that went against Jyou's answers in the interrogation. Jyou had stated that he had left with the Takaishis around midnight – apparently, according to Takeru, that was true. However, Koushirou had also stated that he left with Jyou an hour earlier. According to Koushirou, Jyou had doubled back to get his wallet, hence explaining why he left again later. The fact that this was backed up with Motomiya gave this even firmer verification.

The question was – why hadn't Kido Jyou mention this during his questioning session? Could he have simply forgotten to mention this little detail, or thought that something as minor as doubling back to get his wallet was an unnecessary detail… or was there something more? Satoe knew that this little hitch was something to look into, even though it was still too small to be considered as a major clue. After all, Kido Jyou had no apparent motive to harm the Ishidas.

And the last point to note, of course, was what Takaishi Takeru had mentioned to him earlier. The key – the unique key belonging to the Ishidas that had somehow wound up in Takuya's hands. He had sent his men to head down to the Takaishi's place to retrieve it and to have it examined at once – soon enough they would find out which part of the house that key belonged to. And once this was found out, many more questions would inevitablly be raised.

Satoe let out another sigh. They were making progress… but they still had a long way to go.

_

* * *

Saturday, 3rd __May, 2009 – 11:15am_

_The questioning with Takaishi Hikari had been fast and smooth. Her answers tallied with everything so far, she was cooperative and seemed willing to help. This was no change at all from her behaviour the afternoon before, when Satoe's men had arrived at her house for the key – she had seemed very willing then too, and had even appeared surprised upon hearing that Takeru had voluntarily informed Satoe about it during his interrogation._

_Everything had been speedily done, much to Satoe's pleasure. The report of the key would be ready by the end of this session – soon enough more light would be shed on this particular case._

_"Thank you for your time," Satoe said, standing up, and Hikari sagged visibly with relief. "We may call you down for further interrogations if need arises. Have a good day."_

_Hikari stood up, nodding. "I hope you apprehend the murderer soon," she said. "You – " she looked slightly hesitant, then her words tumbled out in a rush. "You don't suspect my husband and son, do you? Will you be calling Takuya for questioning too? He's still so young, he – "_

_"Mrs. Takaishi," Satoe said gently but firmly, and Hikari stopped mid-sentence, her face flushed. "This is something I do not know as of yet, but you can be rest assured that if we do have to ask Takuya some questions, we will ensure that your child is well-protected. The questions will definitely not inflict any sort of harm on him."_

_Hikari nodded, though she still looked uncertain. "Thanks, Officer."_

_The policemen guarding the door led Hikari out, and Satoe followed them out, heading at once for his desk. A white, labelled file sat atop of it and he picked it up at once, feeling a surge of apprehension and excitement as he flipped it open. Fingerprint-testing would only be conducted later in the day - he didn't expect too much information from that, seeing how the key was already covered with the Takaishis' fingerprints - but at least right now, he was going to find out more vital information about their current most important clue._

_He read through the report quickly, letting out a low whistle as he did so. Just as he had suspected…_

_The key belonged to the door of Yamato and Sora's bedroom._

* * *

Friday, 3rd May, 2009 – 2.06pm: Sakura Park

"Ken?"

Miyako sneaked a look at her boyfriend. She could always tell when he wasn't in the best of moods, and this was one of those times. They had spent the past half an hour strolling around the empty park, and he hadn't even looked at her once or held her hand throughout the walk.

The question was, _why? _He had appeared moody ever since they had met this noon, hadn't spoken more than two sentences during lunch, and made no remarks at all about where to head to after. Miyako could feel increasing paranoia as the hours slipped by. Maybe Ken was unhappy with meeting up with her so soon since their last date. After all, in order not to arouse suspicion, they met up twice a week at the most, and usually the dates were at least three days apart. In fact, Ken had always been more than happy to spread out their meetings as much as possible. This wasn't something Miyako was happy with at all, but she had tried so hard to understand that this was for the good of Ken's reputation.

And yet... this was the very reason why she had insisted so vehemently on meeting that day.

Miyako was a strong-willed person, and it was saying something that she had kept up with this pretense for so long. Daisuke stumbling on their secret tryst back in the Ishida's house had broken something in her, though. She simply couldn't go through with this any longer. How long did she have to remain as Ken's secret lover, never allowed to be seen with him in public, having to put up with the fact that everyone else thought him as a swinging bachelor? She loved him so much, and she was sick of having to stow all these emotions away even when meeting him. And the worst thing of all was that she was beginning to doubt that Ken even felt the same way as her.

And hence came this meeting. She was going to be firm this time and make things clear. No more secrecy and pretenses. She wanted Ken to come clean, once and for all, and be open about their relationship. What was the big deal about being with a "lower-class" girl, anyway? Such relationships were always displayed in such a positive light in television shows, after all!

"Ken?" Miyako tried again when he didn't respond. She touched his arm gently and he jerked away as though scalded. She winced, trying to quell down the hurt she felt – he seemed practically _repulsed _by her.

Ken sighed and stopped walking suddenly. Miyako stopped too, bemused.

"I'm really sick of this," he said quietly.

Miyako's heart stopped. Was this it? The thing she had been fantasizing of for so long – was it finally coming true? Could Ken possibly be feeling the same way as she did?

Ken turned to face her and she felt herself blanch. His expression was emotionless and cold. He didn't look at all like the Ken she knew.

"I've been called in for interrogation," he said.

"What?" Miyako gasped, taking a step backward. She couldn't believe it – nobody had known about him being in the Ishidas' residence at all, nobody except… "But Daisuke promised! He…"

"Well, apparently he broke his promise, didn't he?" Ken snapped harshly. He glared at her and it was all Miyako could do to not look away. "Do you know what this means? I was sneaked into the house secretly. I wasn't even on the guest list. This could very well make me a prime murder suspect, Miyako!"

"But you aren't!" Miyako cried. "I'll be your alibi. I was with you the whole time! You have no motive! They can't possibly – "

"Shut up!" Ken hissed as Miyako's volume rose. "Do you realize that you appear equally suspicious too? This means that your statements were made up of a whole bunch of lies too. Don't you know that?"

"I…" Miyako trailed off, realizing what this meant for her. She was even more a suspect now as well.

"I knew this was a mistake all along," Ken said coldly. "I think it's best that we end this now before things become worse."

Miyako opened her mouth but no words came out. Her mind was blank, her legs felt like lead, and her stomach was squirming.

"I'm leaving," Ken said, more quietly now. "Please don't try to contact me anymore. I won't reply." He looked into Miyako's horrified gaze, his own wearing nothing but pity and regret. "Goodbye, Miyako."

_

* * *

Thursday, 23rd April, 2009 –10:06pm: Ishidas' Residence_

"_We're leaving," Takaishi Natsuko announced, picking up her handbag and looking pointedly at Yamato as she did so._

_Around them the party continued in full swing, food still plentiful and conversations still lively. The atmosphere among the little party near the front door, however, was more than tense, watched by nobody except Takaishi Takeru, who lurked, unseen, behind a nearby pillar._

"_But it's still early, Natsuko," Sora hurried over at once, putting a placating hand on her mother-in-law's shoulder. "Do stay a bit longer! Let's at least have some supper together first, shall we? It's been so long since we've last seen each other."_

_Natsuko sighed and exchanged a glance with her ex-husband – never had they been so united in one decision. "I'm sorry, Sora," she said, taking a step toward the front door. "I don't think we can stay any longer. Yamato's behaviour today has been tremendously disappointing. I hope that he can take some time off his busy schedule to reflect on his actions."_

_Behind Sora, Yamato snorted. "Do you think I'm still a kid, Mum?" His voice was cold. "Don't think you can make up for your absence all those years ago now. It's too late."_

_Natsuko stiffened. Hiroaki was staring at the floor. Sora bit her lip, uncertain of how to react. Yamato narrowed his eyes and turned away._

"_Have a good night, Mum, Dad," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I don't think you need me to see you out, do you?"_

_As Takeru watched his parents leave, he shook his head despondently. All these years he had hoped that time would heal all wounds and that Yamato would be able to patch things up with their parents. Things, however, had only gotten increasingly worse. Now, he wondered if a reconciliation would ever even happen._

* * *

"_Are you alright, Sora?"_

_Sitting alone in her favourite armchair, a glass of red wine in her hand, Sora had spent the last half an hour making small talk with guests, watching the people around her mill around and trying her best to play host while still remaining glued to the chair. After the little spat with Yamato's parents, she had felt a desperate need for a drink. This party was turning into a nightmare for her – weren't parties supposed to be friendly, cheerful affairs? Wherever she turned, though, there was nothing but petty arguments and spiteful words. She was so sick of it all._

_Grateful for the kind words, Sora smiled up at her friend of many years. "Have a seat, Jyou," she said, gesturing to the empty chair next to her._

_Nodding, he sat down. They sat in companionable silence for a minute before he spoke._

"_I've been looking out for you all night," Jyou started, then chuckled softly. "Gosh, that makes me sound borderline stalkerish, doesn't it?"_

_Sora laughed. "I know that you're always looking out for me, Jyou. I'm glad for that. It's nice to have someone who cares."_

_The bitterness in her voice made him cringe. The Sora he knew from school wasn't like this at all – in fact, she was the exact opposite. Free-spirited and fun-loving, she had been the epitome of cheerfulness. Was this what marriage did to people? It had changed Sora, no doubt. She was so much more embittered and – to be frank - she appeared so much more older and world-weary._

"_What has happened to you, Sora?" Jyou asked quietly. Since the first day they had met, Jyou and Sora had always been blunt with each other. There was no mincing of words when it came to the two friends. "Forgive me for saying this, but you seem so unhappy."_

_Sora let out a long sigh. "I'm not, Jyou," she said quietly. "Today has just been a long day."_

_Jyou looked at her. His heart ached to see his friend in this state, and yet he didn't know how to help her._

"_Maybe you should just leave him," the sudden statement made Sora jerk up in surprise. "Sora, he's not the man that you knew and loved. He strays – you saw what happened just now with Mimi – and he's rude and disrespectful to everyone, including you. How can you possibly be happy with somebody like him?"_

_The look on Sora's face told him he had gone too far._

"_He's my husband, Jyou. I love him." Her words signalled the finality of the conversation._

_Jyou looked away. "Sorry," he said softly._

* * *

"_It's not even midnight! Off so early?" Yamato chuckled as he slapped Koushirou friendlily on the back. "Got a hot date, yeah?"_

_Koushirou shook his head. "Nothing of that sort, Yamato. I'm… just not feeling too well, and I thought I had better leave early. Sorry for being such a party pooper," he smiled at Yamato and then at Sora. "We should meet up soon, alright?"_

_Sora nodded, a small smile grazing her face._

"_And you?" Yamato demanded, turning to Jyou as the latter tugged on his coat. "What's your excuse for leaving so early, Kido?"_

_Jyou smiled. "Hey, I'm sorry too. I've got some work stuff to attend to. But we'll all meet up soon too, I promise. A cosy gathering's in order!"_

_Yamato laughed. "Sure thing," he promised, nodding firmly. A faint voice calling his name could be heard from inside the house, and he turned._

"_I'll see them out. You go see who's that," Sora touched her husband's arm affectionately and he nodded, having already shifted his attention to whoever it was._

"_Do be careful," Sora told the two men as she walked them to the front gate. "The streets are really dark at this time of the night."_

_Jyou smiled. "We're two grown men, Sora. You needn't worry about us."_

_Koushirou nodded silently. "Do take care of yourself, Sora," he said quietly._

_She swallowed and nodded. "You too," she whispered, reaching out and enveloping them in a quick hug before turning back into the house._

_There was a brief pause. "I'm going this way, it's easier to flag a cab there," Koushirou said, gesturing to the main road in the distance. "What about you?"_

"_Same," Jyou nodded._

_They walked down the quiet path, not speaking. Koushirou and Jyou had never been close – the only connection they had was that they were both good friends of Sora and Yamato._

"_Are you taking a cab back, too?" Koushirou asked finally._

"_Yeah," Jyou nodded. "I should think I brought enough…" he patted his coat pocket, then stopped in his tracks, a look of dismay slowly crossing his features. He slipped a hand into the empty pocket, then began feeling about his clothes frantically._

"_Damn! I must've left my wallet back at the Ishidas," Jyou let out a hiss of annoyance and sighed. "Look, Kou, I had better run back and get it. All my valuables are inside – I even stuffed my phone in there!"_

"_I'll go back with you," Koushirou offered, but Jyou shook his head and the redhead felt secretly relieved – he wanted nothing more but to return home quickly and go right to bed._

"_I can handle it myself – you go back and get some rest," Jyou smiled at him and Koushirou nodded thankfully._

_They exchanged brief goodbyes and Jyou turned back, jogging back quickly to the house, hands still feeling in his pockets as though bearing the tiny hope that his wallet was somewhere with him. Koushirou continued walking down the empty lane, grateful for the solitude that had replaced the previous awkward silence, but at the same time acutely aware of the aching loneliness that had been expanding in him since the start of the night._

**

* * *

TBC**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed the previous chapter, and I hope you guys enjoy this very much overdue update. As I've said at the start of this chapter, I honestly don't know when the next one is going to be – so please don't hold your breath, because we all need to breathe to live! :P**

**Happy reading!**


	7. Dawning

**Surprised to see an update? You're not alone - so am I! But as I've said before, I want to finish this story by hook or by crook and this is my attempt to. Being stuck at home on a rainy night helps too...**

**I fixed some loopholes and timing mistakes in the previous chapters. I'm aware that this story is pretty flawed in terms of all the nitty-gritty details, especially regarding the sequence of events in the flashbacks. I'd really appreciate it if more are pointed out - so if you notice any, thank you and do let me know! **

**

* * *

Too Into You  
Chapter Seven: Dawning**

* * *

Satoe had managed to shorten the suspect list once more by crossing off two more party guests – Natsuko and Hiroaki. Fortunately for both of them, they had perfect alibis. Hiroaki had gone to a bar with some friends after leaving the party early, while Natsuko had met up with a few close girlfriends. Furthermore, both of them had left the party early - way before the tragedy had taken place. Natsuko had offered the reason behind her early departure through flowing tears – she had been more than annoyed at her eldest son, and it caused her more grief than ever that that was how their final parting had taken place.

_

* * *

Saturday, 3__rd__ May, 2009 – 5:21pm_

_Satoe held the report holding the results of the fingerprint testing in his hands, heading for the interrogation room where Yagami Taichi was waiting. There were a whole array of fingerprints on the key, as to be expected. The Takaishis', Yamato and Sora's, the staff – including Miyako and Daisuke, and many more... very bizarrely though, two sets stood out – that of Ichijouji Ken's and Kido Jyou's._

_The two of them were guests at the party – well, the former was uninvited, which made it even more suspicious. Why would Ken's fingerprints be on the Ishidas' personal key? He was merely someone who had sneaked in for a one-night fling with the maid. Kido proved suspicious too - but then, he was a close friend. He could have held or touched the key for some other reason. Perhaps he had been in their room recently. Whatever it was, Satoe was determined to find out soon._

_Entering the room, Satoe found Taichi staring into space, lost in thought. He cleared his throat and the messy-haired young man looked up, offering the officer a small smile as he stood up to shake Satoe's hand. _

_The initial questions were cleared smoothly. Satoe was glad to see a lack of bad attitude for a change – Miyako and Daisuke had really irked him with the way they had acted during their interrogations. He was really not looking forward to the upcoming one with Miyako's lover._

"_Mimi and I left some time after Kido Jyou came back for his wallet," Taichi offered. "We were all helping him to look for it, and then we finally found it in the bathroom," he chuckled lightly at the memory. "Probably the most light-hearted moment of that night…"_

"_I heard, from one of the other guests…" Satoe looked straight into Taichi's eyes, "that you had a fight with Yamato?"_

_Taichi sighed, pushing back his fringe as he leaned back against his chair. "Yes. Yes, I did. God, it was stupid. I punched him in the face. Didn't take too long for him to retaliate. It felt just like High School…__" A strange expression crossed Taichi's features in that instance. Was it nostalgia?_ _"_... except different."

"_What was the reason behind the fight?"_

"_Yamato was coming on to my girlfriend," Taichi's voice took on an edge. "I couldn't believe my eyes. Yamato is – was – my best friend since High School. He may have changed a lot since then, but I never thought that he could do something like that. It was pure betrayal."_

_Satoe raised an eyebrow._

"_Wait a second," Taichi looked up suddenly, eyes growing wide. "You're thinking that this provides a possible reason behind Yamato and Sora's murders, right? That's insane!" He shook his head vehemently. "I would never hurt Yamato to that extent. I still think of him as my brother, even after everything that has happened. You don't know how devastated I was when I heard the news! And Sora – why would I want to hurt Sora?"_

"_Please calm down, Mr. Yagami," Satoe placated. "Every single person on the guest list may be the killer. This is just standard protocol, so you have to bear in mind that we are just taking extra care to note down anything any of you say during these sessions."_

_Taichi was silent for a minute. Satoe looked down at his clipboard, another question ready on his lips, when Taichi suddenly spoke. "I have an alibi."_

"_You do?" Satoe looked up. If what Taichi was saying was true, this meant that they could narrow down the list of suspects even further - and get to the murderer faster. _

"_Yes, we do - Mimi, too. Tachikawa Mimi. We left around eleven, after Jyou's wallet was found, like I said just now. Only Jyou, Iori, Takeru and Hikari were left by that time. After that, we went to our favourite desserts shop. It's the one just across Odaiba Supermart – Amae Sweets Shop. We're regulars there and the shop assistants all know us by first name," Taichi drew in a breathe. "It's a 24-Hour shop; we were there until about 4am. You can ask any of them, they'll know we were there." _

_Satoe nodded in acknowledgement, having taken all these down. "Alright. One last question before you can go. Did you see anything suspicious there, Mr. Yagami? At the party?"_

_Taichi bit his lip. "Well, I hate to tell tales like this… but Koushirou – Izumi Koushirou, he seemed really down that night. He kept hanging around Sora that night - didn't socialize with the rest of us at all. Well - he's always been a bit weird."_

"_Weird?" Satoe cocked his head to one side in question._

_Taichi nodded. "He's just always kind of… alone. All by himself. He's a bit strange around Mimi, too. He was hanging out by himself at the party, and I only saw him talk to Mimi and Sora. Plus, he seems really scared of Yamato. But who knows why? I'm not that familiar with the guy."_

_They had come to the end of the interrogation. As Satoe saw Taichi out, he knew what his next task was – to contact Amae Sweets Shop right away, and hopefully, be able to potentially cross two more people off the list._

* * *

One hour later, Satoe put the receiver of his phone back into the cradle, satisfied. He had dispatched two of his men down to Amae Sweets Shop for questioning, and it appeared that Yagami had not been lying. The two of them had been there the whole night. The attentive shop assistant had even offered to list out what the two of them had ordered – not like that would have been of much help, but it was always nice to meet such obliging and helpful citizens, Satoe mused. The staff would still have to come down for a more official questioning, but it appeared that he could potentially cross the couple off – _potentially _being the word. Satoe had been in the circuit long enough to know that anything could happen in cases like these.

_

* * *

Sunday, 4__th__ May, 2009 – 1:25pm_

_There were many perks to working as a police officer. It was an exciting life. One of the biggest downfalls of his job, however, was having to work on weekends._

_Ichijouji Ken – this guy was famous. He came from one of the richest families in Japan, he was smart, and of course it helped that he wasn't bad-looking. He had arrived at the station dressed immacutely, in a well-pressed light blue shirt and fitted pants. His expression was guarded and unreadable. Satoe had the feeling that the man was highly embarrassed and was trying not to show it._

"_There's no point in telling any more lies, Mr. Ichijouji," Satoe said, sitting down in front of the indigo-haired young man. "I don't think it will help your case, especially given the very strange fact that you were in the Ishida household without being invited. What were you up to? Tell me everything."_

_Ken hesitated before speaking. His voice, even now, rang of confidence and certainty – he was someone used to things going his way. The slight tremor beneath it gave him away, however. For the first time in his life, Ichijouji Ken felt frightened and unsure. This was a situation that money would not get him out of._

"_Miyako asked me to meet her that night. It was the perfect opportunity; we don't get to meet much, and everyone in the house was going to be preoccupied with the party so we could have the other rooms to ourselves," Ken sighed. "I waited near the house around 7.40pm. She finished her duties at around 8.15pm and went to fetch me. We sneaked in through the back door._

"_Miyako decided on the broom cupboard and I guess it was the best place – inconspicuous, nobody would think of checking there. We were – well – we were just about to get started – " Ken reddened significantly but did not pause in his speech, " – when this guy walked in on us. Turned out he was just one of the staff. The head cook or whatever."_

_Satoe nodded the dismissive way Ken mentioned Daisuke, as though he was someone of no significance or importance._

"_It was really annoying. I had been trying so hard to keep our relationship under wraps and now someone had found out about it! Miyako explained everything to him, I couldn't bring myself to… and that Daisuke guy turned out to be pretty helpful. He agreed to help cover for us and he even helped to sneak us out later on. He left us to it after his - er, interruption, and didn't come back until much later. I don't really remember the time but it must have been around 3am. He sneaked me out through the same way I came in – the back door, and I hailed a cab home." Ken looked up eagerly. "Hey, I remember the cab company and the name of the driver. That helps my case, doesn't it?"_

_Satoe nodded slowly. "It may. Provide me the details after this." Ken's explanation was detailed but there were still questions. How had his fingerprints gotten onto the key? Had he and Miyako really stayed in the cupboard for hours, never leaving until 3am? And importantly, Sora had been brought to the hospital at 3.35am. The hospital was a fifteen minute ride away, meaning that the timings were really close, since Ken had sneaked out around that time too. It was highly probable that the three of them could have seen something._

_Satoe fixed a steely look on Ken, who shrank back involuntarily. "You are telling me the two of you stayed in the cupboard for five hours, never leaving? Am I supposed to believe that?"_

_Ken bit his lips. "It – it's true, Officer. We – we didn't just get physical. We talked too," Ken sighed. "Miyako wanted to talk about our future. She's hard to deter that way. And then she fell asleep. I didn't want to wake her up…" A small smile played across his lips._

_Satoe looked at him intently. "The two of you seem close."_

_Ken looked up, startled, and something flashed across his eyes. "Um, well, we've broken up since." Then he stifled a groan, wondering what had possessed him to say that. What was he doing, exposing all his personal secrets to this unknown officer? This was definitely not helping his case…_

"_Back to the questions," Satoe said briskly. Without further ado he held up a ziplock bag which contained the key. Ken stared at it, his eyes widening. "This key has your fingerprints on it. Do you have any idea what it unlocks?"_

_Ken's mouth dropped open. The yawning silence lasted for more than a minute and just as Satoe was getting impatient, Ken nodded resignedly. "The Ishidas' bedroom."_

"_So you are saying you entered their bedroom?"_

"_N-no!" Ken's face reddened once more. "See, there was one detail I missed out just now. Miyako and I did leave the cupboard once…"_

_Satoe's eyes narrowed._

"_I'm sorry! I…" Ken looked increasingly flustered. "It was a stupid idea. See, we thought it would be safer if we locked the Ishidas in their own room until I left. We went to their bedroom. It was scary, okay? What if they saw us? I've heard that the Yamato guy was someone you should NOT mess with. Anyway, we went to the room and the key was there, in the lock. I was going to turn it when we heard voices inside. Sora and Yamato weren't the only ones in their room. There were other guests inside too. They were saying something about how they should be leaving, and we heard footsteps approaching… and I just panicked. I…"_

"_Yes?" Satoe prompted coolly, wondering how it was possible that Ken had conveniently forgotten to mention this vital piece of information earlier._

"_I pulled out the key by accident and Miyako was all like, 'Let's go, Ken! We gotta go!' So I just threw it on the floor and we ran off. It was a very close shave."_

_Satoe nodded. Ken was a convincing speaker, but like all the others his words were to be taken with a pinch of salt. The guy was a bit too much of a smooth talker for his liking. "Alright, one last thing. You say that you sneaked out at 3am. Did you not meet anyone along the way? As you should probably know, Takenouchi Sora was taken to the hospital at around that time."_

_Ken shook his head firmly. "No, Officer. I'm positive. We met nobody along the way. __I left from the back door, though. _Maybe whoever took Sora brought her through another exit?"

_

* * *

_

Outside the station, Ken leaned against a pillar, closing his eyes and feeling the brilliant sunshine on his face. He couldn't help feeling as though he had screwed up during the interrogation. He had never seen that look in anyone's eyes before. Officer Satoe had looked at him as though he was someone who should _not _be trusted. It unnerved him – heck, he was usually the one dishing out looks to other people, after all.

His hand closed around his phone. He was itching to call her, and he didn't know why. He really shouldn't. This relationship had been a big mistake to begin with. It was better off like this – ended.

He found himself dialling her number anyway.

* * *

_Thursday, 23rd April, 2009 –10:45pm: Ishidas' Residence_

"_Keep in touch," Mimi whispered as she put her arms around Sora. The two shared a tight embrace before breaking apart, trying to ignore the fact that their partners were both staring daggers at each other._

"_Come on, Taichi, let's go. Didn't you want some dessert?" Mimi beamed her biggest at Taichi, linking her arm through his. His gaze softened at once – her desired effect, the one she never failed to produce when she bestowed that smile on him._

"_We'll see you out," Yamato said gruffly, apparently attempting to neutralize the tension. Mimi smiled weakly in thanks and Taichi merely nodded his acknowledgement, a muscle jumping in his jaw._

_Ding-Dong!_

"_Who could that be?" Sora frowned, surprised. She made for the door, but Yamato held her back._

"_I'll get it," he said._

_The door opened to reveal Kido Jyou standing at the doorstep, looking highly embarrassed. _

"_Jyou!" Sora exclaimed. "What brings you back?"_

"_This is really stupid, but I think I left my wallet somewhere in your house," Jyou answered as she led him in. "I must have left it on the couch. I'm really sorry. I'll just go grab it and…"_

"_It's no problem at all, Jyou," Sora told him as he hurried over to the chairs, patting the spot where he had sat on and turning over the cushion._

"_It's not here…"_

_Yamato, Taichi and Mimi wandered over too, joining in the search-fest and turning over all the cushions there were on the couch. Iori, Takeru, Hikari and Takuya, who had been talking quietly amongst themselves in a corner, walked over too, looking bemused._

"_Jyou's lost his wallet," Yamato explained, shaking his head at the bespectacled man with a smirk. "And I always thought you were the smart one!"_

"_We'll help to look," Mimi offered; Hikari nodded in agreement as she put Takuya down._

"_I'll help too!" The little boy cried happily, earning chuckles from the small group – the atmosphere lightened almost at once, and Sora broke into a genuine smile, one of the very few she had given away that night. She touched Yamato lightly on the shoulder._

"_We'll go look in the kitchen, and the bathroom, and of course the living room here. These are all the rooms Jyou have been to tonight, so it has to be in one of them." _

_Jyou gave a brief description of his wallet and everyone dispersed. Heading to the corridor that connected the living room and the main bathroom, Jyou kept his eyes on the ground, looking left and right, trying not to feel too embarrassed at the ruckus he had caused. _

"_Uncle Jyou?" _

_Jyou looked around, surprised. Takuya stood in front of him, staring at him out of his huge blue eyes. His fist was clenched tightly over something while his other hand scratched at his right leg._

"_I feel itchy here," Takuya said suddenly, rolling up his jeans to show him his freshly-bandaged wound. "I heard from Uncle Yamato that you wanted to be a doctor but you gave up. Can you make it not itchy for me?"_

_Something flared inside Jyou, as it always did when he heard his name and the word "doctor" used in the same line of speech. He tried his best to quell it down. Takuya was a little kid. He didn't know any better._

_Kneeling down so that he was eye to eye with Takuya, he pressed down on the sides of the wound. "Just press the sides, around the injured part, like this. Gently," he added. "Don't scratch, because it won't heal that way. Pressing does the trick. Got that?" He smiled as Takuya began imitating him at once._

"_You're right! It feels better now," Takuya giggled, jumping up in delight. Jyou watched him with a smile. Children – free of troubles and burdens, full of dreams and fantasies. He felt a fleeting, sudden yearning for his past, a feeling he wasn't altogether unfamiliar with these days._

"_What is that in your hand, Takuya?" Jyou gestured to the boy's fist._

_A guilty look flashed across the little boy's face. "I didn't take it on purpose! I found it there," he pointed at a large door on their left and as he did so, something shiny fell out off his opened fist and onto the carpet._

_Jyou picked it up, turning it over. "A key, Takuya? This belongs to Uncle Yamato and Auntie Sora. You shouldn't be taking their things without asking them."_

"_I'm sorry," Takuya whispered, "but it's pretty. I'll put it back. Can you please don't tell my mummy?"_

_As if on cue, Hikari's ringing voice reached their ears. "TAKUYA! Where are you? I told you not to leave mummy's side or you won't get ice-cream tomorrow!"_

_Takuya sprang up at once, their conversation a few seconds ago forgotten. "I'm coming, mummy! I'm coming!" He cried, his little legs carrying him as fast as he could to the source of the voice._

_Jyou watched him run off, a small smile playing on his lips. _Kids, _he mused to himself, turning the key over in his hands. _They don't know how lucky they are.

**

* * *

**

**TBC**

**Isn't Ken annoying? Ha ha. Next chapter will be up... goodness knows. Hopefully soon! :)**


End file.
